San Juan County, Colorado
San Juan County | |
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UTC−6 (MDT) | |
Congressional district | 3rd |
Website | sanjuancounty |
San Juan County is a county located in the U.S. state of
History
Long before European settlement, the area was regularly explored by the Anasazi, and later the Utes, who hunted and lived in the San Juans during the summer.[3] There is also speculation that Spanish explorers and fur traders ventured into the area in the 1600s and 1700s.[3]
Permanent settlement in the area surrounding present-day San Juan County began in 1860, near the end of the
After the
The region boomed after George Howard and R. J. McNutt discovered the Sunnyside silver vein along Hurricane Peak, outside the mining camp of Eureka. Gold was then discovered in 1882, which helped the county weather the Panic of 1893 far better than other mining communities, such as Aspen or Creede.[4] The Sunnyside Mine would become one of Colorado's longest running and most productive mines.[6]
Mining operators in the San Juan mountain area of Colorado formed the San Juan District Mining Association (SJDMA) in 1903, as a direct result of a Western Federation of Miners proposal to the Telluride Mining Association for the eight-hour day, which had been approved in a referendum by 72 percent of Colorado voters.[7] The new association consolidated the power of thirty-six mining properties in San Miguel, Ouray, and San Juan Counties.[8] The SJDMA refused to consider any reduction in hours or increase in wages, helping to provoke a bitter strike.
The Sunnyside mine was shut down after the
Geography
According to the
Adjacent counties
- Ouray County – north
- Hinsdale County – east
- La Plata County – south
- Montezuma County – southwest
- Dolores County – west
- San Miguel County – northwest
Major highways
- U.S. Highway 550
National protected areas
- Durango-Silverton Narrow-Gauge Railroad National Historic District
- Rio Grande National Forest
- San Juan National Forest
- Shenandoah-Dives (Mayflower) Mill
- Silverton National Historic District
- Uncompahgre National Forest
- Weminuche Wilderness
Trails and byways
- Alpine Loop National Back Country Byway
- Colorado Trail
- Continental Divide National Scenic Trail
- San Juan Skyway National Scenic Byway
Demographics
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1880 | 1,087 | — | |
1890 | 1,572 | 44.6% | |
1900 | 2,342 | 49.0% | |
1910 | 3,063 | 30.8% | |
1920 | 1,700 | −44.5% | |
1930 | 1,935 | 13.8% | |
1940 | 1,439 | −25.6% | |
1950 | 1,471 | 2.2% | |
1960 | 849 | −42.3% | |
1970 | 831 | −2.1% | |
1980 | 833 | 0.2% | |
1990 | 745 | −10.6% | |
2000 | 558 | −25.1% | |
2010 | 699 | 25.3% | |
2020 | 705 | 0.9% | |
U.S. Decennial Census[12] 1790–1960[13] 1900–1990[14] 1990–2000[15] 2010–2020[1] |
As of the census of 2000, there were 558 people, 269 households, and 157 families residing in the county. The population density was one person per square mile (0.39 person/km2). There were 632 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile (0.77/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 97.13%
There were 269 households, out of which 23.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.90% were married couples living together, 8.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.30% were non-families. 36.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.06 and the average family size was 2.63.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 20.10% under the age of 18, 4.30% from 18 to 24, 28.10% from 25 to 44, 40.50% from 45 to 64, and 7.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 110.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 112.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $30,764, and the median income for a family was $40,000. Males had a median income of $30,588 versus $19,545 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,584. About 13.50% of families and 20.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.40% of those under age 18 and 7.10% of those age 65 or over.
San Juan county is the only county outside Alaska where walking is the most common form of commute to work. As of 2013, 33% of residents walked to work, 18% drove alone, 19% carpooled, and 18% bicycled, though the small population size introduces considerable margins of error to these statistics.[16]
As of November 2006, the one and only local school had 53 students in grades K–12.
Communities
Town
Unincorporated communities
Former communities
- Animas Forks (restored ghost town)
- Eureka (ghost town)
Politics
In the era of William Jennings Bryan, San Juan County strongly favored the Democratic Party: no Republican managed to carry the county between 1892 and 1916, and it was even one of the few northern or western counties to vote for Alton B. Parker in 1904. It remained a Democratic-leaning county until the 1960s but then turned towards the Republican Party in subsequent decades. No Democratic presidential nominee won San Juan County between 1968 and 2000, although it was one of fifteen rural or remote counties to give a plurality to Ross Perot in 1992. Since John Kerry carried the county for his party for the first time in four decades at the 2004 election, San Juan County has voted Democratic at the last five Presidential elections.
Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
2020 | 202 | 35.94% | 342 | 60.85% | 18 | 3.20% |
2016 | 215 | 42.49% | 265 | 52.37% | 26 | 5.14% |
2012 | 212 | 41.90% | 266 | 52.57% | 28 | 5.53% |
2008 | 218 | 43.95% | 264 | 53.23% | 14 | 2.82% |
2004 | 216 | 44.44% | 253 | 52.06% | 17 | 3.50% |
2000 | 210 | 48.17% | 149 | 34.17% | 77 | 17.66% |
1996 | 153 | 41.35% | 133 | 35.95% | 84 | 22.70% |
1992 | 118 | 26.05% | 147 | 32.45% | 188 | 41.50% |
1988 | 210 | 50.36% | 192 | 46.04% | 15 | 3.60% |
1984 | 320 | 61.66% | 183 | 35.26% | 16 | 3.08% |
1980 | 268 | 48.82% | 146 | 26.59% | 135 | 24.59% |
1976 | 221 | 53.77% | 167 | 40.63% | 23 | 5.60% |
1972 | 238 | 58.33% | 140 | 34.31% | 30 | 7.35% |
1968 | 165 | 46.09% | 134 | 37.43% | 59 | 16.48% |
1964 | 129 | 31.70% | 278 | 68.30% | 0 | 0.00% |
1960 | 218 | 45.23% | 261 | 54.15% | 3 | 0.62% |
1956 | 324 | 58.38% | 231 | 41.62% | 0 | 0.00% |
1952 | 432 | 56.77% | 327 | 42.97% | 2 | 0.26% |
1948 | 329 | 47.00% | 348 | 49.71% | 23 | 3.29% |
1944 | 328 | 55.88% | 258 | 43.95% | 1 | 0.17% |
1940 | 452 | 54.20% | 378 | 45.32% | 4 | 0.48% |
1936 | 196 | 23.61% | 622 | 74.94% | 12 | 1.45% |
1932 | 160 | 22.44% | 544 | 76.30% | 9 | 1.26% |
1928 | 277 | 37.13% | 436 | 58.45% | 33 | 4.42% |
1924 | 218 | 39.78% | 206 | 37.59% | 124 | 22.63% |
1920 | 330 | 50.46% | 290 | 44.34% | 34 | 5.20% |
1916 | 214 | 21.62% | 693 | 70.00% | 83 | 8.38% |
1912 | 231 | 22.49% | 555 | 54.04% | 241 | 23.47% |
See also
- Bibliography of Colorado
- Geography of Colorado
- History of Colorado
- Index of Colorado-related articles
- List of Colorado-related lists
- Outline of Colorado
References
- ^ a b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ OCLC 56351338.
- ^ a b Twitty, Eric (March 1992). "Historic Mining Resources of San Juan County, Colorado" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 15, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
- ISBN 0878424555
- ^ a b Bunyak, Dawn (1997). "Silverton Historic District (boundary increase)". National Register of Historic Places. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
- ^ Roughneck—The Life and Times of Big Bill Haywood, Peter Carlson, 1983, page 65.
- ^ The Corpse on Boomerang Road, Telluride's War on Labor 1899–1908, MaryJoy Martin, 2004, page 201.
- ^ a b Russek, Melanie (n.d.). "Resiliency Plan for Silverton & San Juan County, Colorado" (PDF). National Association of Development Organizations. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
- ^ "Mean County Elevation Lists".
- ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
- ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
- ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
- ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
- FlowingData. January 20, 2015. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
- ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
External links
San Juan County, Colorado.